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THE HESPERIAN.
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he shows a childlike desire for truth, and reverences rev
elation, he seeks to obey the spirit as well as the letter of
that revelation. His discussion is a candid, unimpnssioncd
expositon of his views, one worthy of careful perusal. The
knowledge that he, the greatest showman of the age, has in
his busy life found time and inclination to examine the foun
dations of his belief in maltcis spiritual, fully justifies the
opening assertion: "wonders will never cease."
CURRENT COMMENT.
It is sad, but true that the great Irish national leader, the
man that has led the Irish people from bondage to within
sight of the promised laud; the man that has had calumny
heaped upon him, but who has survived these attacks and
kept his character unsullied; the man that has been extolled
to the skies, and whose name has trembled upon the lips of
the Americans as well as on the lips of the English and
Irish; the man who has gained the great reputa.
tion of being the strongest leader of n down-trodden peo
ple, has "fallen from giacc" In the recent divorce case in
which be played a part he made no defence and was therefore
adjudged guilty by the jury. The question comes up now,
will he retire from a political life and leave the guidance of
Ireland's welfare to other and less able men? Ireland is in
such a position now that Parncll seems indispensable to her.
The Evening News sajs: " 'Ireland's Uncrowned King' has
been crowned with infamy." Surely then an infamous man
will not be left at the head of the Irish people. The bishops
have asked that l'arnell be forced to resign and the probabili
ties are that he will have to comply.
Parnell is, comparatively, dead, politically, but while we
censure him for his conduct of late let us give him credit for
what he has done for Ireland in the past. Let us acknowledge
that he has brought her within sight of happiness and prosper
ity; that he Iies made it possible for his successors, whoever
they may be, to consummate the welfare of Ireland, and that
without him Ireland would still be in the position she was some
years ago.
There is a great deal of excitement at present among the
Indians of the Northwest concerning the Indian millenium as
foretold by the new Messiah. This Messiah has come among
them disguised, and has told the Indians that he has come to
restore them to their former glory; that their dead shall be
raised to life; that the buffaloes shall return, and that the
whites will all be swept away and never more molest them.
This belief has been accepted with childlike simplicity by the
Sioux, Cheyennes, Blackfcct, Shoshones and other tribes, and
these Indians are now preparing to usurp the place of the
whites when they will have been driven from the land. Sit
ting Bull, one of the most vicious chiefs among the Indians,
has accepted the belief and is doing all he can to stir up dis
content Those that have seen this Messiah say he is muffled
up so that his face is hardly discernable, ami some think he
is a full-blooded white man. General Miles, Commander of
the military division of the Missouri thinks that the Mormons
have a great deal to do with stirring up the exiting dissatis
faction. They have had missionaries at work among the In
dians for some time, and have won many converts among
them.
The situation on the agencies is certainly very grave.
The Indians have stared a ghost dance on Medicine Root
Crcelc and propose dancing until spring. Their determina
tion is made manifest by a verbal message sent to Agent
Roycr, of Pine Ridge Agency, by Little Wound, the high'
priest of the ghost dance. He says: "Our dance is a relig
ion one, and wc arc going to dance until spring. If wc find
then that the new Christ docs not appear wc will stop dancing,
but in the meantime troops or no troops wc arc going to start
our dance at this creek in the morning." The Indians arc
considerably worked up over this matter and will perhaps
fight at a moment's farning. They disclaim any hostile in
tentions, but this fact alone coming as it does from the Indians
should more than anything else put the government on its
guard against treachery. The authorities have been very
prompt in this matter and already Agent Royer has received
authority to r i-c too scouts. 24,000 rounds of ammunition
have been sent for the troops of the Ninth Cavalry and 60,000
for the galling and Hotchkiss guns. Troops from all
parts of this state have either been ordered to the scene
of the difficulty or they have been commanded to be in readi
ness to go there at any moment. The government means
business in this matter and it has ordered that no rations be
given to those Indians that will not forsake tne ghost dance
and cease creating disturbances. If the difficulty cannot be
overcome in this manner the Government will propably use
force. This will be the last resort and if once begun it should
not cease until the Indians arc completely subdued and paci
fied. An Indian is at best but a savage and as long as he is
allowed much liberty he will show his ingratitude by acts of
treachery.
VANDALISM IN EGYPT.
To the Editor of The Nation".
SIR. The names of Englishmen are being solicited to a
petition to the British government to use its great influence
with the Egyptian government to put a stop to the illegal
and shocking mutilation of the monuments and sculptures of
old Egypt. It Is in the power of England to accomplish much.
A list of American names will be forwarded by me to the
British museum, to be placed in the proper hands, and I ask
for signatures from our people for that petition. Will not our
press state thir. fact?
Most Faithfully Yours,
Wm. C. Winslow
Vice-president of the Egypt Exploration Fund.
The above communication is an appeal to all students of
aucient history. Egypt is one of the most ancient countries
that wc know anything about. We know but very little about
its former history and what we do know has been revealed to
us in modern times by means of monuments and of sculptures
principally. It is important that this history should remain
to us and that the work of exploring, finding, and decipher
ing should goon until we have become familiar with Egypt
as it existed many hundred years before Chri, if this may be
possible. How can these traces of old Egypt be preserved
unless a move be made to put a stop to their mutilaYion?
How much would we know now of the internal work
ings of the city of Pompeii if recent excavations had not been
made and the old relics carefully preserved and examined?
Whole rooms were found showing the const mction of the Pom
peian houses and in these rooms were revealed the workings of
the Pompcian government to some extent. Had these vestiges
of ancient life been mutilated or destroyed, modern research
would have been of little avail.
The success attained through modern iavestigatton has
been brought about by the most careful and thorough work,
and at times this work has encountered many" checks,
hes been hindered and almost discontinued on account of par'
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